What if Cars Could Talk to Each Other?

What if I told you that in only three years, Toyota and Lexus vehicle will be able to talk to not only each other, but to other car brands, and even the road itself? The idea isn't as sci-fi as it sounds. The brands plan to implement vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications via Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) technology.

When the two communication forms are combined, it's called V2X. This system uses a 5.9-GHz DSRC connection to relay information between itself, other vehicles, and the nearby infrastructure. Toyota/Lexus made the announcement on Monday, planning to bring this system to market by 2021.

This system can report everything from collisions to weather conditions. It doesn't require a cellular network, either. Toyota encourages other automakers to adopt the system. This would allow everyone to benefit from one interconnected network of information.

Currently, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen have their own plans for a V2X system. The main issue with this is that it only works within each other. Cadillac to Cadillac, and so on. Of course, any automaker will want their particular V2X system to be the one that everyone else adopts.

It'll likely be a while before road signs will tell you of a nearby accident automatically, this will indeed make it much easier to get fast and accurate data regarding such. Assuming it takes off, that is.